Brace yourselves. A soccer whirlwind could be about to hit New York City.

Rumors surrounding the possible ownership group of MLS’ 20th franchise have been circling all weekend, after MLS Commissioner Don Garber spoke recently of his hopes to have an announcement in “the next 4-6 weeks” on an expansion franchise in Queens, NYC.

Reports across various outlets overnight have the member of the Abu Dhabi royal family stumping up the cash for an expansion franchise, and reveals his plans to spend plenty more as he aims for a new franchise named “New York City” to match the success of his EPL side.

But if the wealth of Abu Dhabi does land in Queens — Flushing Meadows Park to be exact, as plans are “hopefully getting close“ according to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — just how would MLS benefit?

First of all, the envious glare of world soccer would fixate on NYC. Without offense to the New York Red Bulls, Harrison, N.J. is not close to Manhattan, never will be and their fan base in Manhattan and Queens is nowhere near as large as it should be. MLS execs believe situating a team in Queens and NYC proper, will put bums on seats and bring in huge revenues via sponsorship, television and other avenues. The league, not just the NYC 2 franchise, would benefit hugely from that. Plus a city rival for the Red Bulls will be key.

Do I think it will work? Yes. 100 percent. Absolutely. But there are still plenty of stumbling blocks to get through yet. So let’s not get too ahead of ourselves.

But focusing on Sheik Mansour, he has turned Manchester City’s fortunes around by pumping billions into the stadium, infrastructure, academy and most importantly of all, the playing staff. The lure that comes with owning a successful sports franchise has begun to resonate more in recent years, with financial and royal leaders from the Middle East backing horse racing, soccer and other sports with huge financial clout.

Mansour will not stop until NYC 2 are successful off the field, have a global image that everyone admires and most importantly, have huge success on the soccer pitch.

The deal isn’t done yet. But with Garber announcing progress has been made and an announcement within the next six weeks.

Brace yourselves NYC. The city many refer to as “the capital of the world” is on the verge of getting the premiere soccer franchise fans (and MLS) have always dreamed of.

The suffering Swans have had their share of poor performances this season — Clement later said January transfer spending “is a must” if the club wants to stay up — but he’s throwing his hands up in the air when it comes to Wednesday’s loss at the Liberty Stadium.

“At times it was horrible to be on the sideline watching that, seeing my side trying but suffering for long periods. They’re not the games that will decide our season but it was hard to watch at times because they were so dominant. For me, one of the best sides I’ve ever come across. So many good athletes, so many intelligent footballers and it’s really hard to pin them down. We actually had some attempts on their goal so I’m disappointed we didn’t get on the score sheet but they were a far superior side to us. We’ve got to put it aside that game. We’ve got Everton away (next) and we’ve got to try and pick something up there.”

All that’s left is for Clement to pick up a clarinet, awkwardly blow into it, then point at Pep Guardiola and say, “He’s good.”

United didn’t have it’s A-game, but that was okay thanks to fine defensive play from star backstop David De Gea and some gutsy tackles from Phil Jones. The goal came when Juan Mata‘s cross was nodded home by Romelu Lukaku in the 25th minute, and United rode that marker for all it was worth to stay three points ahead of third place Chelsea.

How good is Man City? Pep Guardiola‘s bunch have now won a Premier League record 15-straight in a single season, and have scored 52 goals while conceding just 11. Markers 49-52 came from David Silva (two), Kevin De Bruyne, and Sergio Aguero. Tottenham is next.

A ball bounded off Ahmed Hegazi’s body, and off Dominic Solanke‘s body and forearm to give Liverpool its presumed breakthrough, but the call was intentional handball. The Reds had myriad chances to score before that, but instead hand a point to the visiting Baggies.

The chances were there for dominant Arsenal, but the winning goal did not materialize at the London Stadium. Marko Arnautovic did everything but score when West Ham did manage the ball, and Javier Hernandez rattled the cage late, but David Moyes men had to settle for a well-earned point.

8 – Eight different clubs have won more points away from home in the Premier League than Arsenal (9) this season – Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool, Burnley, Watford, Leicester & Spurs. Issue. pic.twitter.com/waUWHXCws6

Spurs are back in the Top Four thanks to a long Serge Aurier cross that fooled Mat Ryan and a Heung-Min Son deflection of a Christian Eriksen offering. Brighton’s just three points away from the drop zone with the loss.

Claude Puel‘s Foxes are flying, scoring goals for fun and encroaching on the Top Four after a horrible start to the Premier League season. Shinji Okazaki bagged his first Premier League brace, while Andy King and Riyad Mahrez also scored for Leicester, who is within five points of fourth and next faces Crystal Palace. Southampton’s goal came from Maya Yoshida.

1 – This is the first time that two Japanese players have scored for opposing sides in the history of the Premier League. Answer. https://t.co/HOApDbofnv

Wenger was content enough with the result, as he continued to be in the chorus of managers who lament the congested Premier League schedule around the holidays. From the BBC:

“We had so much of the ball, but it was very frustrating because we could even have lost it at the end. They’re happy to defend, they did that against Chelsea and Manchester City, so we couldn’t find the opening and the few chances we had we missed.

…

“When you play every three days, you lose your sharpness.”

That’s true, and to his credit Wenger didn’t try to say West Ham had one day’s more rest (which they did). As Man City runs away with the league and Manchester United doesn’t look fit to drop back to the back, the race for the final two Top Four spots is as congested as the schedule. Arsenal needs to turn some of its shot-heavy performances into goal-heavy cruises sometime soon.